Misery and Defeat
by ScallywagBeowulf
Summary: One of Riverclan's most fearsome and gifted warriors has dueled it out in a final battle with Mapleshade. Crookedjaw has kept his promise with her, and he has trained with her for as long as he can remember. Only one question remains... Will he live long enough to see the light of day with Mapleshade always on top of his every move?


**Misery and Defeat**

**A/N: Hello and welcome all to my first full-length short story here on . I will say, that despite the way this looks and/or sounds, I really enjoyed writing this story. It is darker and features violence and gore, so be forewarned. A final note will be that this is in _NO WAY_ related to Crookedstar's Promise or the original series. Point being, this is _NOT_ cannon, as is obvious, but I just wanted to point that out. Other than that, I do appreciate any feedback you may have about the story, as I'd love to hear what y'all want to say, as it will help improve my writings, so I can make better stories.**

**With all that out of the way, I proudly present to you:  
**

**Misery and Defeat!**

**Note: Erin Hunter owns the Warriors series. Every character, setting, etc. in the story belongs to them. The story is mine and mine only. Enjoy.**

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It was no secret that Crookedstar was one of the more liked leaders from around the clans. He was courageous and brave, and was cunning too, always trying to find new ways to help his clan, no matter what the problem may have been. However, despite these kind words and allegations, this is not one of those stories. This story will tell a tale of misery and defeat. On what happened when Crookedstar, no, Crookedjaw faced Mapleshade for the final time. A tale that is not of our own timeline, but instead will be of completely different proportions.

This will be the way to end Crookedjaw's life.

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Carefully, one eye opened. Then another. A pair of green eyes peered into the darkness that surrounded the brown tom. This place need no introduction. It was a dark atmosphere; The scent of death hung in the air as if you had killed an animal and left it baking in the hot sun. Crookedjaw knew where he was. He knew and didn't even have to guess at who was standing behind him.

_Mapleshade._

He felt that name slither across his mind like a snake, and it pierced deep into his fur, making him shudder. Slowly and carefully, the tom rose from his lying position to face the white and orange cat that sat in front of him. Peering into her yellow dangers, he could tell no signs of danger, no signs of any hint of what she would do. So instead, the two sat there, staring at each other as the surrounding air lay still and dead. Crookedjaw felt unease crawl over his fur and he couldn't help but gulp, in hopes, it wouldn't be noticeable. He sat there, waiting for her to speak, but she never did. She just…. Sat there.  
To break whatever awkward silence this was, he cleared his throat and a raspy voice spoke out. "Mapleshade, why have you called me back here? I thought you were done with me." He said, flicking his tail in a sign of annoyance.

"Crookedjaw, let me explain this to you even such a mousebrained idiot as yourself can understand. Once you made that agreement with me to be training you to be a warrior, you can _never stop_," she said in an icy tone, a way to break through any of Crookedjaw's defenses, "And since you were brave enough to even think we were as close to being done as you thought, I have a special gift for you."

Crookedjaw gulped hard, feeling his eyes grow wide in a bit of fear, as he watches Mapleshade stand and circle him "A-and what gift would this be Mapleshade?" he asked in a soft tone.

She couldn't help but chuckle softly at his terrified state. She moved close to his hear, swatting it gently, and grinned like a demon. "My dear Crookedjaw, we have training to do, but tonight, your gift will be the wrath of my fury."  
With that, she grabbed the tom by the back of his neck with her razor-sharp claws and shoved him into the hard soil. The tom wasn't even able to muster out a single yowl of pain, as he felt her claws dig into his back and began to slide down. Wiggling beneath her, he tried to break free, only to feel her claws sharpen as he struggled in vain. Blood began to pour from this opening in his back, fur tearing apart to reveal the white, crisp bone. Crookedjaw could only look at this demonic figure behind him, seeing she seemed to enjoy this. Crookedjaw, in a ditch effort, used his own hind claws to tear at her underbelly, making her tear away. He tore to his paws, spinning around to face, blood already soaking his brown fur, and anger sweeping over his features.

"Hmm, hmm, hmm, Crookedjaw, don't you see? This will be good for you…_**and me**_!" she yowled, and in a leaping attack, that appeared to take only a matter of seconds, she was trying to tackle him again, only for Crookedjaw to fight back and slice his claws at her face. They didn't seem to do much, as it seemed to be Mapleshade was using the power of the dream to her advantage. To strengthen her. To make Crookedjaw suffer. Despite this vast advantage she held, Crookedjaw did not give up in the slightest, as he snarled in response to her words, and used his duller claws to dig best he could into her leg, while using his teeth to bite into her neck, tearing away fur and skin, some blood leaking out of her.

Mapleshade didn't take kindly to these new actions by the tom, and instead, she used her body advantage to knock him over and daze him, while she simply began to tear into one of his hind legs. The tom howled loudly, as he used the power of his legs to kick her off and spin himself around. Snarling with hatred, he tried to stand and make his way towards her but didn't make it far before she knocked him down again.

This small, but bloodier, fight had knocked the energy straight out of Crookedjaw. Or was this due again to Mapleshade taking control of circumstances? He didn't know. But he knew that he needed to kill her and fast. She soon sat down next to the injured warrior and he let out a raspy huff and a short growl.

"You tricked me… Like every other cat you've ever come across," he snarled at her.

She smiled from ear to ear and let out a bloodcurdling laugh that shook the warrior to the core. She shook her head and lifted his head with her claws, digging them into his jaw and chin area. "You idiot… Do you think you would ever get out of here alive after a stunt like that? You were wrong to even assume that you could receive help from me. You were _never_ planned to be deputy, nor to be any leader. Just look at you. What kind of clan would take a warrior with a broken _jaw_ as a leader?" She said and laughed, letting go of his head, making it smash into the floor.

Crookedjaw moved his jaw around a bit, to try to readjust I and he snarled at her, trying once more to attack. Mapleshade didn't even bother and with a flick of her tail, she got up and began to move away.

"Oh, and Crookedjaw, I want to remind you that the agreement still stands. Even with you dying on the floor of the Dark Forest."

Crookedjaw could only watch as she vanished back into the tree line. He couldn't do much, besides wiggle a bit, and lift his head to glance at his surroundings. He knew he would have to act fast if he wanted to live, but that was a very short time frame, especially with half his back torn wide open. He let out a gurgle, that had blood leak from his broken mouth. He didn't know what to do. Was his life over? Had it all finally come to an end?

No. Not yet. It would not end like this. He would die trying. In a heave of effort, he rose himself to his paws and staggered his way into the darkness that encompassed the rest of the Dark Forest. He stumbled and bumped his way through before he caught a glimpse of her. Just the faint look of white and orange fur. It was her. Had to be Mapleshade. He snarled with all effort he could give, and yowled, as he broke his way through limbs and smashed into her, full-body weight and all, knocking them both to the ground. He snarled, rage flaring in his eyes, as he used his claws to cut into her neck, then her mouth and chin, her eyes and finally her belly. It had happened so fast that Mapleshade hadn't even had time to react. Crookedjaw huffed, spitting out a bit of blood as he collapsed off the Dark Forest cat, heaving a sigh of relief. Had he finally won? Was this nightmare finally over?

No. Not at all. This is no happy ending, mind you, so despite what you think…

Crookedjaw let out a howl of pain as he felt Mapleshade shove her claws into his jaw and tore upwards, smashing right through the front part of his fur in the lower chin. He gasped, gurgling as new, fresh blood poured out of his opened wound and down his neck. He began to spasm, just slightly, and the last thing he could even see through the darkness that already surrounded him was the look of claws, as shiny as knives, cut deep into his throat, allowing only a last gasp of air to escape the tom's body. A small convulsion happened, but… That was that. There was no more, no less.

Despite it being a dream, his injuries had crossed planes into the real world. And despite a frantic operation of cobwebs and whatever else he could muster, Mudfur could not save the gravely injured tom. The wounds were, in the words of a Two-Leg, "absolute medical mystery" and no one can explain how he had received such grave wounds. Nobody can explain it, and a gathering is called to remember the life of Crookedjaw, as is done with every cat in a clan.

When Crookedjaw opens his eyes again, he is an absolute horrified state.

"This can't be happening… This can't be happening…" he mutters to himself over and over. Yet, the scents of the Dark Forest, and the sounds of rustling leaves are the sign Mapleshade is near. "This was the gift she promised me… A gift of never-ending suffering…" he whispered and in shocked terror, lets out a howl of despair, only for him to be silenced once more, by Mapleshade's shining claws, in an endless loop of misery and defeat.

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**A/N: Once more, I just wanted to thank y'all for reading this story. Do give feedback, so I can become a better writer, or even give me some ideas of what to write about next. Thanks again, and I hope y'all enjoyed it. One last quick thing, if you have any ideas on even how to make this story better, I will also accept that, so I can make this a damn good story as well. **

**See y'all around soon. **

**~ ScallywagBeowulf**


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